In the beginning God created the world and everything in it, including people. God made people special. He made them able to think and to choose and to love. God loved and cared for the people He had created. (Genesis 1:1-2,26-31; John1:1,14)

Missions:

Aden and Addison Rigney, missionary kids in London, share why their family moved to England and introduce kids to some of their favorite places to visit. The Mandrell family pack up and leave Tennessee to start a church in Denver, Colorado.

I hope you all had a great time today and we look forward to seeing you back tomorrow!!!

]]>Vacation Bible Schoolhttp://unionavenue.org/community/vacation-bible-school/
http://unionavenue.org/community/vacation-bible-school/Sat, 01 Jul 2017 12:22:12 +0000Discover the incredible mysteries of the universe- right from your own backyard! Grab your telescope through which you can encounter amazing and wonderful things designed by a Creator who is even bigger than the vastness of His creation. Join us for...Discover the incredible mysteries of the universe- right from your own backyard! Grab your telescope through which you can encounter amazing and wonderful things designed by a Creator who is even bigger than the vastness of His creation. Join us for VBS: July 17th-21st!

As Galactic Starveyors kids will search the skies and God's Word to uncover God's truth etched in His handiwork.

It's time to register for VBS!]]>Services Cancelledhttp://unionavenue.org/community/services-cancelled/
http://unionavenue.org/community/services-cancelled/Sun, 28 May 2017 13:27:27 +0000Due to the storms in the MidTown area last night and that currently the power is out at the church there will not be any morning services.Jeff WilliamsonDue to the storms in the MidTown area last night and that currently the power is out at the church there will not be any morning services.]]>Renovations 4 U!http://unionavenue.org/community/renovations-4-u/
http://unionavenue.org/community/renovations-4-u/Wed, 19 Apr 2017 15:55:38 +0000From time to time we have to "clean-up" our house. We clean up because years of "stuff" just seems to make itself at home in our house. The stuff makes a home in our rooms, hallways, staircases and everywhere else. We clean up...Jeff WilliamsonFrom time to time we have to "clean-up" our house. We clean up because years of "stuff" just seems to make itself at home in our house. The stuff makes a home in our rooms, hallways, staircases and everywhere else. We clean up because a guest is coming over, the holidays are upon us or yes because...we have just had enough!

Well the same thing happens in our church buildings. We as the regular tenants get use to the "stuff", well honestly because it is ours. It's always been there and of course we don't need to move it because when we do...it might offend someone. But even we the church need to clean-up and move things out. It really is a two fold purpose.

It is good to just clean-up and throw away.

It provides a opportunity for a positive first impression for you...our guest.

So that is why we are providing "renovations 4 u!" For you our membership the renovations are being provided in order for us to restore pride in our campus and facility. For you our guest the renovations are being provided for you and your family to have a great first impression and Worship experience at UABC.

Over the past year the main floor of our building has been completely renovated and updated. New floors, lighting and painting has been done as well as a seamless Wifi network has been installed building wide. In the coming weeks a new roof will be placed on our sanctuary building and the interior of the sanctuary will receive new lighting and a fresh coat of paint.

Our desire at UABC continues to be focused on the community. "We seek to connect you to Christ and His community." That is done to the best of our ability and we do so by trying to remove all hinderances during your visit and time of worship here at UABC.

]]>You've Been Eggedhttp://unionavenue.org/community/youve-been-egged/
http://unionavenue.org/community/youve-been-egged/Mon, 27 Mar 2017 15:10:36 +0000Have you been EGGED? Did you find a Easter Egg with an invitation to attend church on Easter Sunday? If you did tag us on social media with #UABCRocksEaster and let us know where you found the egg.
Then after sharing the post encourage your friends...Jeff WilliamsonHave you been EGGED? Did you find a Easter Egg with an invitation to attend church on Easter Sunday? If you did tag us on social media with #UABCRocksEaster and let us know where you found the egg.

Then after sharing the post encourage your friends to attend church on Easter Sunday! If not at UABC then encourage them to attend somewhere!

Happy Easter and remember to celebrate what "He Gave!"

]]>President Lincoln and the 1st Thanksgivinghttp://unionavenue.org/community/president-lincoln-and-the-1st-thanksgiving/
http://unionavenue.org/community/president-lincoln-and-the-1st-thanksgiving/Tue, 22 Nov 2016 20:12:47 +0000On October 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln made a national declaration announcing what would become the first Thanksgiving. As you gather with your families this coming Thursday consider the words of President Lincoln.
Washington, D.C., October...Jeff WilliamsonOn October 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln made a national declaration announcing what would become the first Thanksgiving. As you gather with your families this coming Thursday consider the words of President Lincoln.

Washington, D.C., October 3, 1863

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.”

“In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.”

“Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.”"No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”

“It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.”

“I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”

“And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.”

“In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.”

“Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.”

“By the President: Abraham Lincoln.”

Lincoln asks all Americans to observe Thanksgiving day–whether they are atheists, pantheists, or believers in God. It will benefit all because, whether they believe it or not, God is there. You may not see the sun for the clouds, but it is there and you couldn’t live without it. Even more so with God in whom you live, breathe and have your being (Acts 17:28). He exhorts all Americans to the double barrels of joy–thanksgiving and praise. One recognizes what God does and the other, who he is. He is our Father whose home is in the Heavens (the ultimate destination of his children).

ENGAGE POKÉMON GO PLAYERS: MINISTERS

AUGUST 11, 2016

By Connie Davis BusheyNews Editor, Baptist and Reflector

BRENTWOOD — Jay Barbier, minister of high school students, First Baptist Church, Millington, is from South Louisiana, so when one of his students offered to “drop a lure” his first thought was fishing. Then the young man and Joseph Brasher, minister of education at the church, said they needed some bottled water to give away to Pokémon Go players.

Barbier admitted he doesn’t play the game for mobile devices so he was out of the loop. But he quickly got involved when he learned about the opportunity, he said.

About a month ago on a Tuesday evening a Pokémon Go “lure” was dropped at First Baptist, Millington. Then about 20 Pokémon Go players arrived over the next hour. Students, Brasher, and Barbier were there to meet them. The church facility already was open for visitation activities.

About half of the gamers arrived by car because the church sits on a large lot outside of town. Millington is located about 20 minutes from downtown Memphis.

The Pokémon players, many who were not church members, were met at the front door of the church, welcomed, and encouraged by the church members as they moved about and launched Poké balls using the touch screen of their mobile devices to try to catch Pocket monsters or Pokémon. When they weren’t busy, they were offered a bottle of water.

The church members also were able to engage them in gospel conversations, said Barbier.

“They think they’re just coming to get Pokémon and we give them Jesus,” he added.

The names and phone numbers of the Pokémon players were collected so they could be contacted the next time a lure would be dropped. The church also plans to contact them to further “reach out to them,” said Barbier.

Church leaders and students announced the event on social media to spread the word.

The about 180 students involved at First, Millington, are “all into playing this Pokémon Go,” Barbier reported. Parents have reported that one good outcome is that players are getting out of the house to play it. Another good result is the opportunity to witness to “people who might not ever come to a church again,” he noted.

“It’s good for a church to think outside the box. This is taking advantage of something that’s popular … to point someone to Jesus,” he added.

Cody Clark, student minister, Living Hope Baptist Church, Clarksville, downloaded the free app about a month ago and discovered the church facility had two Poké Stops, one right in front of its fitness center, and a Pokémon Gym. So Clark had a sign posted outside the church’s fitness center welcoming Pokémon players. The fitness gym is open all day long.

Then about a month ago Living Hope Baptist purchased a lure for the stop at the fitness center and had refreshments available for Pokémon players. Clark got some of these ideas from a podcast by David Evans of the Tennessee Baptist Convention staff on the TBC’s Reaching app. Clark also posted an announcement about the lure including an invitation to Pokémon players on the church’s Facebook page and his personal Facebook page. Eight young adults in their 20s came to play.

Next Clark planned a movie night and Pokémon event one evening for students. The students helped him promote it using social media including Instagram. Instead of 25 students, about 45 students attended, including many who had never been to an event at the church before, reported Clark. Living Hope draws about 60 students to weekly church activities.

Finally the church held a middle-school lock-in and Pokémon event. The event once again drew many new students as friends invited friends, said Clark.

“Students appreciate it when churches are interested in trying to reach them and interested in the things that they are interested in,” he observed.

He said the lures cost about $5 and sometimes are free.

Clark highly encourages church leaders to use Pokémon to reach youth and young adults.

“It’s not often that the world gives us a chance to bring unchurched people to the church to show them that we do care for the community.”

He noted that Pokémon Go has some negative issues related to security but it encourages fitness and “gives the church a huge opportunity to share the love of Jesus Christ and learn how to be receptive to non-traditional church visitors.”

Also, using Pokémon Go can help players “feel more comfortable in entering the doors of a church. They can see that we will not attack them … , that we just want to love on them,” explained Clark.

David Evans, evangelism specialist of the TBC, said, “Pokémon Go is definitely one of the most relevant things happening right now.”

Because Millennials (Generation Y) and Homelanders (Generation X) are “so in tune to the life of technology,” Pokémon Go has become wildly popular quickly, he noted.

“People can utilize this modern technology to share the gospel. This is contextualization of the gospel at its best.”

He explained that even if a lure module isn’t made available by a church, many churches are Poké Stops or Gyms because they are considered “public art, unique architecture, and public gathering places” by the creators of the game. The game combines the well-known Pokémon game with the newer Google Maps technology to create a real world game playing space.

Other characteristics of the game are that it is amoral and just fun, said Evans.

He also encouraged Baptists to go to places such as parks, community facilities, and retail establishments which are Poké Stops and Gyms to “be missional.”

“Pokémon Go gives us a different access to the unchurched and the social world than we’ve had before. … This is such a major boon in our society for Christians,” stated Evans.

]]>Opportunities to Share the Gospel are Just Around the Cornerhttp://unionavenue.org/community/opportunities-to-share-the-gospel-are-just-around-the-corner/
http://unionavenue.org/community/opportunities-to-share-the-gospel-are-just-around-the-corner/Wed, 18 May 2016 19:35:42 +0000With VBS and other summer evangelistic opportunities just around the corner, we can never be overly prepared to share the gospel with kids and their parents.
LifeWay Kids team member Jerry Vogel recently reminded a group of kidmin leaders to never...LifeWay ChildrenWith VBS and other summer evangelistic opportunities just around the corner, we can never be overly prepared to share the gospel with kids and their parents.

LifeWay Kids team member Jerry Vogel recently reminded a group of kidmin leaders to never miss an opportunity to share the gospel. Every aspects of VBS - from the Bible story to crafts and snacks - creates an opportunity to talk to a kid or parent about their relationship with Jesus.

Jerry reminded leaders to:

Ask open-ended questions

Remain conversational, not confrontational

Never assume that a kid understands your “church talk” about becoming a Christian

Make the distinction between becoming a Christian, baptism, and taking the Lord’s Supper

Encourage kids to express their own ideas - let kids think and process

Provide personal counseling for every kid

Use a Bible translation kids are familiar with and uses language they will understand

Give kids an anchor to help them remember the day and decision so they can go back to that moment later in life

As Jerry said, "evangelism is not a day - it is everything we do in VBS."

]]>Everything a Parent needs to know about Tinder?http://unionavenue.org/community/everything-a-parent-needs-to-know-about-tinder/
http://unionavenue.org/community/everything-a-parent-needs-to-know-about-tinder/Wed, 11 May 2016 15:49:28 +0000NOVEMBER 9, 2015 BY TEENSAFE It's a parent's worst nightmare: finding out your child has made online contact with strangers posing as teenagers, has met those strangers in real life, and now your child has been sexually assaulted.
No one wants...Tennessee Baptist Convention

It’s a parent’s worst nightmare: finding out your child has made online contact with strangers posing as teenagers, has met those strangers in real life, and now your child has been sexually assaulted.

No one wants to think this can happen to their own child, but that’s exactly what happened to three young teens who used a popular app meant for flirting and dating. That app now bans minors from using it’s service… but the problem is, it’s not the only app out there.

Tinder is one of the most popular dating apps on the market, and has been labeled one of the most dangerous and inappropriate apps for teens and tweens.

What Exactly is Tinder?

Tinder is a dating app for smartphones. Released in 2012, it’s a mashup of traditional online dating, GPS targeting, and instant messaging.

Users are shown with a photo of potential matches in their area, and then can anonymously rate that person by “swiping” their picture off the screen in a different direction. Interested? Swipe right. Not interested? Swipe left.

If two users both “swipe right” to indicate they are interested, Tinder makes an “introduction” and reveals each user’s identity. The couple can then message each other and arrange to meet.

It’s a straightforward process, as dating apps go. The simplicity of the app appeals to many millennials and teens who are used to making instant connections online. But many say it’s also incredibly superficial.

Sean Rad, founder and former CEO of Tinder, says it just mimics real life. He admits, “It is all about the picture. We’re not ashamed to say that. In the real world, you all have that initial first impression and that look and I think we underestimate the power of our brains to tell a story by looking at a photo.”

In any case, the numbers speak for themselves. Tinder claims the app sees over 50 million people use the app every month, with 1.6 billion “swipes” and 26 million matches every day.

However, once the match has been made and instant messaging comes into play, all bets are off.

Image via Shutterstock.

Who Uses Tinder

With so many people connecting with strangers every day, it’s important to realize WHO exactly is using Tinder.

The current Tinder demographics are:

7% — 13 to 17 years old

51% — 18 to 24 year olds

32% — 25 to 32 year olds

6.5% — 35 to 44 year olds

3.5% — 45 year olds and older.

You might notice something strange at the top of that list… 7% of users are 13 to 17? That’s at least 3.5 million teens that are active on Tinder.

That’s the main reason Tinder is so worrisome for parents: it allows users as young as 13 to create accounts.

In an email exchanged with The Huffington Post, Tinder spokesperson Rosette Pambakian wrote, “To protect young users, those between the ages of 13 to 17 can only connect with other users in that same age range on Tinder. Additionally, the only way two users are able to message each other within Tinder is if they mutually expressed interest by ‘liking’ each other, which results in a match. That means that users cannot send messages to other users without mutual consent.”

However, like almost all social media apps and sites, there is nothing to prevent users from entering false birth dates. This is especially troublesome, because Tinder is linked to Facebook and Instagram accounts where it is estimated that 44 percent of teens have lied about how old they really are to gain access to age restricted content.

Beyond teens using this tactic, there are concerns that predators can also lie about their age to gain access to younger teens’ profiles. Online “sextortion” is a relatively new phenomenon but one that all parents need to be aware of.

Image via Shutterstock.

How Are Teens Using Tinder

Parents have other reasons to be concerned over Tinder. While Tinder is called a “dating” app, it has a reputation for being used mostly for hook-ups and sexual encounters. What differentiates it from most others is that Tinder uses a smartphone’s GPS tracking feature to connect people within a geographical region. The danger Tinder poses isn’t just virtual… it’s within arm’s reach.

A survey of teens on Tinder saw a huge emphasis on sexual encounters, including stories such as…

“Every person I know who has Tinder has been asked for sex.” — 16 year old.

“Teens [use it] to find other teens who are interested in getting physical without on emotional connection.” — Anonymous teen.

Image via Imgur

“All the girls I know have spoken to mainly older guys, around one or two years older. And the guys speak to anyone they can. It starts off with general chit-chat usually, and then it slips into talking purely about sex and physical stuff and then often they eventually arrange to meet up.” — 16 year old.

“Of course there’s the risk of meeting creeps on dating sites, but there’s that risk when you meet people offline too.” — 18 year old.

Other Concerns Over Tinder

Like most messaging apps, Tinder puts teens at risk for cyberbullying. Cyberbullies can create fake accounts, take screenshots, and humiliate victims with this dating app, whether it’s a stranger they’ve met online, or someone they know, and have specifically matched with in order to bully or threaten.

This is especially troubling for parents of teen girls. Tinder is infamous for sexual harassment of women, and can create self-esteem issues in vulnerable teen girls.

Image via Twitter.

In fact, the former CEO Sean Rad who we quoted above, stepped down as CEO after the female VP of marketing filed a lawsuit accusing her co-workers of sexual harassment and sexism.

Parents need to instill in kids an understanding of the dangers social media poses. This will likely empower kids to protect themselves against digital pitfalls like predators, cyberbullies, and sexting.